We like Kickstarters!
Yeah, this isn't writing or fandom related but it's important!
Over the past couple of years, Hubby and I have backed a number of different Kickstarters. We backed two collected volumes of a favorite webcomic, Girl Genius, ending up with hardcover versions and a number of cool rewards for our support. Hubby has backed several games, most by his favorite game designer, James Earnest. He tries to choose games we'll play as a family, like Pairs, a new card game. With our shipment on that one, we got three different sets of cards (one with artwork from the Girl Genius artists, Phil and Kaja Foglio) and the extra game, Falling. We're still waiting on our copies of three different games from the Pack O' Games line published by Perplext, but otherwise, we have pretty much everything we backed last year.
Even though Hubby swore he wouldn't back any games this year, two have come up that we both felt we had to have!
The first is mainly for me. As this is the 50th anniversary of my favorite Supermarionation show, Thunderbirds, a lot of merchandise will be appearing to celebrate it (as well as tie-ins to the new CGI version, Thunderbirds Are Go!). One of these is a new cooperative game based on the original 1960s show. The game's designer, Matt Leacock, and its publisher, Modiphius Games, are highly regarded at the Board Game Geek forum, which Hubby frequents.The Kickstarter hit 200% of its original goal on the very first day! Each stretch goal has unlocked a new expansion to the game and, at the level we've funded it, we'll get them ALL. So excited to see this one come down the pike!
The second one meshes our love of Girl Genius with our love of games. The Foglios and the creators of another webcomic, Gunnerkrigg Court, have teamed up with Killer Robot Games to produce Legendary Showdown: Machines and Magic. This is another game we're looking forward to; even the Girl, as a fan of Gunnerkrigg Court, is eager to play this one! We're not funding this one to the extent we're going with Thunderbirds, but enough to get the accompanying magnet set with the game.
Seriously, we do like Kickstarters. It's great a way for smaller, independent companies to develop and produce content which they wouldn't have had the capital to produce otherwise. Beyond creating rewards for their backers, these concerns expect to profit from what the capital allows them to create by selling their products in the open market. So, check out the wide variety of Kickstarter projects when you have a moment. You may find something you think is worth backing!